IT takes an especially stupid and unimaginative person to make hoax calls to an emergency service, but luring one into an ambush defies belief.

Notwithstanding this, firefighters in Britain are being attacked up to 40 times a week and fires are being deliberately set to snare crews who are then attacked with bottles, bricks or other potentially lethal missiles.

Why? What sort of morons have we bred in this country that are capable of such mind-bogglingly senseless, pointless and absurd behaviour. Forty times every week - and that's the most conservative estimate.

Scaffolding poles have been thrown through windscreens, vital equipment has been vandalised or stolen. Surely no-one, however gormless, can imagine this is clever or funny.

Crews already putting their lives at risk must now face this even more dangerous hazard since it is one they cannot train for.

There is, of course, no guaranteed way of stopping this, if the individuals concerned can't see that they as much to be pitied as vilified.

Nevertheless the figures in North Wales - whilst 23 too many - are not the worst in the country and show signs of decreasing due to firefighters educating community and youth groups.

In the meantime we can only urge the courts to take the harshest possible line with offenders: this is not mere vandalism or even arson. It must be stamped out before it becomes murder.

PLAID Cymru's manifesto pledges concerning health may not be especially radical but the party certainly appears to understand the needs of Wales. Senior party officials know, for example, that the way dentists are paid is the key to retaining their services within the NHS.

It is equally encouraging that they recognise that there is no point pouring endless amounts of taxpayers' money into health.. What is important is how existing budgets are spent, making sure that funds are used properly and efficiently, first.

Any responsible organisation will ensure that its operation is lean, mean and well-organised before considering major investment programmes, but such is the nature of the NHS with its impossibly vast £70bn budget, that a few million pounds here or there barely merit scrutiny.

In this respect Plaid's approach is refreshingly and markedly different from the government's and makes it a serious contender for power in Wales.